Through the Wire
by D. M. Evans
Summary: Being in love means knowing just what to do


Through the Wires

Author - cornerofmadness

Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al, Square Enix and funimition. I dont make a profit

Time Line – could be just about any time in the first twenty odd chapters of the manga

Pairing – Roy/Riza

Summary – Being in love means knowing just what to do

Authors Note - this was written for the FMAOT4 alphabet challenge for the letter E which in this case stands for Edward Elric. Thanks to evillittledog for the beta

XXX

"He destroyed what?"

Roy's roar was so loud that his whole office jumped in spite of the closed door. Riza set aside her work and crossed over to the colonel's inner office door but didn't open it.

"Set fire to what? Cave-in?" The words drilled through the door.

"Uh-oh, sounds like Ed has gotten into trouble again." Havoc smirked around his cigarette, his fingers coming to a brief rest on the manual typewriter.

Riza nodded. "Fuery, go down to the mess hall and get the colonel some coffee, please."

The young man popped up. "Yes, ma'am."

Riza ignored the other food orders the rest of the staff gave poor Fuery so she could listen in at the door.

"Did he at least fix it?"

She waited until the phone slammed down in the cradle before knocking. She slipped inside before Roy could say anything and, as much as she wanted to lock the door for privacy, Riza didn't dare. "Is everything all right, sir?"

Roy's head rested against his hands. His fingers parted just enough for one dark eye to peer out. "Have those brothers never heard of low profile? Must Edward wreck every city he stops in?"

"Usually he fixes it up." Riza smiled then thought for a moment before adding, "Even if you get complaints about monstrous faces and weird architecture afterwards. I almost want to see just how Edward fixes things."

Roy slumped face down on his desk. "I might as well paint big target signs on those boys. If an enemy wants to find them, the Elrics certainly make it easy."

"Maybe you should send them to Central for some lessons in subterfuge with Hughes and Armstrong," Riza suggested, knowing that once Roy settled, he'd like the idea of inflicting Edward on Hughes.

"Edward Elric is the bane of my very existence," Roy told the wood grain of his desk.

"One of many." Riza managed to stifle her giggle if not her words.

He lifted his head long enough to send a fiery glare her way. "Not helping, Hawkeye."

He looked so piteous, Riza went over to the nook alongside of his bookcase. Anything in the nook was shielded from the enormous windows. "Roy." She beckoned him to join her. When he got to her side, she pulled him down for a kiss. Tongues toyed with each other, teeth clicking until, finally, air became a necessity.

Roy's tongue explored the curve of his lips. "Very nice." He smiled. "But it didn't help. I still want to pound Elric into jam and spread him on toast." Roy went back to sulking at his desk, totally missing Riza's irritated glare. Before she could think of another way to help him out of his funk, there was a knock at the door.

"I have coffee, Colonel, sir," Fuery said on the other side.

"Bring it in," Roy replied morosely. He looked over at Riza. "Coffee won't help, either."

"Just drink it, sir." Riza went back out into the anteroom and looked at Havoc, Falman and Breda. "The Colonel is in a very bad mood." Their eyes widened and everyone started looking busier than was reasonable. Sighing, Riza headed down to the library. There was only so much intimate touch she and Roy dared to do in the office and they had already pushed that boundary today without results. Riza knew her lover well enough to know he would stew for hours, his mood getting fouler. She could kick Edward herself right about now.

Still, the sniper had one more trick up her sleeve. Hardly anyone came to the small library within the Eastern compound and the phone at the librarian's desk was deserted as the desk itself. Riza knew what she needed to do to help lift Roy's spirits; she had done this so many times before. Picking up the phone, she instructed the military operator to connect her to Central Investigations. She smiled softly hearing Maes' cheery voice come over the other line. "He needs a call, Hughes."

"What did Edward do this time?" Maes asked knowingly.

"He's a little tiny weapon of mass destruction, apparently." Riza rolled her eyes even though Maes couldn't see her.

"Ah, that boy." Maes sounded positively proud. "There aren't too many like him."

"Well, his grown up counterpart is in his office working on the sulk of the century. We have end of the quarter reports to do, not to mention you know what." Riza knew Maes was well aware that her birthday fell on the weekend this year, tomorrow in fact, and she didn't want to spend part of it drawing Roy out of his funk. Still there was no way she was going to even hint at a date with Roy on military lines.

"Yeah, I know. Can't have him being broody and pissy with that much work on his hands. Leave it to me."

"Thank you." Riza rang off and went back to her desk in Roy's anteroom.

"He threatened to burn any paperwork that comes in his office," Breda informed her as she sat down.

"Give him time to get it out of his system," she said, trying not to grin when she heard Roy's phone ring.

"What the hell do you want?" Roy still had his volume set up too loud but quickly seemed to adjust when nothing but murmurs could be heard through the door.

Finally, when she heard Roy laughing, Riza turned back to her work. That Maes was a miracle worker.


End file.
